SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The No. 1 Fighting Irish travel to Durham, North Carolina, for their final road test of the regular season, taking on No. 16/15 Duke in an ACC clash at Koskinen Stadium at noon ET on Saturday, April 18. The game will air on ESPNU.
GAME DETAILS
Location: Durham, North Carolina | Koskinen Stadium
Schedule: April 18 —Noon ET
TV: ESPNU
Live Stats: FightingIrish.com
Twitter Updates: @NDlacrosse
For a more in-depth look at the matchup – Game Notes: Notre Dame
THE DUKE SERIES
• Saturday will be the 35th meeting all-time between Notre Dame and Duke.
• The Irish hold a slight edge in the all-time series, leading the Blue Devils with a record of 18-16.
• Notre Dame has won each of the last seven meetings and eight of the last nine dating back to the 2021 season.
• The Irish defeated Duke in last season’s matchup, winning by a score of 14-7 in Arlotta Stadium during the regular season.
• Notre Dame has won each of the last five matchups against the Blue Devils by three or more goals.
• Will Angrick, Matt Jeffery, Fisher Finley and Jalen Seymour each scored in last season’s victory over Duke while Thomas Ricciardelli finished with 10 saves.
RESUME BUILDING
• Notre Dame has never shied away from playing the top teams in the country and has racked up wins, especially over the last few seasons.
• The Fighting Irish are 28-8 against ranked teams since the beginning of the 2023 season.
• Sixteen of the 28 wins have come in blowout fashion with the Irish winning by five or more goals.
• Furthermore, Notre Dame has faired just as well against the best of the best, posting a record of 21-5 against teams ranked in the top 10 of the USILA poll at the time of the matchup since the beginning of the 2023 season.
• The Irish are 5-0 against ranked opposition this season and 4-0 against top-10 teams (UNC, Richmond, Georgetown and Ohio State).
ND VS. TOP-RANKED TEAMS
• Saturday’s game against No. 1 North Carolina marked the 12th time the Irish have faced the USILA’s top-ranked team in program history and the first time they had faced the country’s top-ranked team in back-to-back games.
• With the win, Notre Dame to 7-5 against No. 1 teams.
• Since 2015 the Irish have especially excelled against No. 1 opponents, posting a mark of 7-1 in those matchups.
• The Irish recorded two wins against the nation’s No. 1 team this season, coming in a 12-8 win over Richmond and a 10-5 victory against UNC.
• Notre Dame became the first team to record wins over the top-ranked team in consecutive games.
LOCKDOWN DEFENSE
• Notre Dame enters the weekend allowing just 8.22 goals per game, ranking fourth in the country and first in the ACC.
• The Fighting Irish turned in arguably the best defensive performance of the season, holding UNC to a season-low five goals in the 10-5 victory. Only two of the five goals were scored in settled six-on-six possessions.
• Notre Dame held Maryland to eight goals in College Park, which is tied for the Terps lowest scoring output in a home game since the advent of the shot clock in 2019.
• Schwitzenberg earned ACC Defensive Player of the Week honors following the ranked road win.
• Notre Dame then allowed just eight goals in the road win over Ohio State and four in the victory over Michigan, its lowest goal output in a game this season.
• Thomas Ricciardelli made 14 saves in the win over Ohio State, earning ACC Co-Defensive Player of the Week honors.
• Notre Dame held Richmond to just eight goals, tying its mark for the lowest they have scored in a game this season.
• The Irish had their most disruptive performance of the season in the win over No. 3 Georgetown, limiting the Hoyas to just nine goals while recording a season-high 19 caused turnovers.
• Lyght finished the contest against Georgetown with a season-high three caused turnovers and two ground balls.
• Donovan has been a menace to opposing attacks, recording 10 caused turnovers and 30 ground balls.
• The short-stick defensive midfield unit that consists of Christian Alacqua, Chris Reinhardt, Kyle Bergen and Miguel Iglesias has impressed this season as well.
HIGH-POWERED OFFENSE
• Notre Dame enters the weekend averaging 13.33 goals per game, ranking it 12th in the country despite facing four of the top-12 ranked defenses in the country.
• The Irish also rank 10th in the country in points per game with a mark of 21.33 through nine contests.
• The Fighting Irish are sharing the ball at a high rate, averaging 8.0 assists per game, which ranks 12th in the nation.
• Notre Dame has been efficient shooting the ball, posting the 15th-best mark in the country shooting at a clip of 32.0 percent.
LYGHTS OUT
• Lyght enters the 2026 campaign as the top defensive player in the country, having been named the USA Lacrosse Preseason Defenseman of the Year.
• The junior was selected as the Schmeisser Award co-winner following an incredible sophomore season in 2025.
• The defenseman was named ACC Co-Defensive Player of the Year following the 2025 regular season as voted on by the league’s coaches.
• Lyght was also named a USA Lacrosse First Team All-American following the 2025 regular season.
• In the win over UNC last season, Lyght held UNC’s prolific attackman Owen Duffy to just one assist on the day, matching his career low for points in a game.
• This season’s matchup against Duffy he limited the junior to two points off a goal and assist and the assist came off a man-down situation in which Lyght was not on the field.
• Lyght consistently draws the No. 1 option for the opposing attack throughout the season.
BACK BETWEEN THE PIPES
• Goalie Thomas Ricciardelli returns in goal after earning the starting job in 2025.
• The senior is 8-1 on the season, making 97 saves while allowing 7.96 goals per game, ranking fifth in the country.
• Ricciardelli has recorded a save percentage of .500 or better in eight of nine games this season.
• The shot stopper turned in arguably his best performance of the season in the win over No. 1 UNC, making 16 saves while allowing just five goals while adding three ground balls and a caused turnover.
• The New Canaan, Connecticut, native allowed a season-low four goals while making 11 saves in the win over Michigan on March 14.
• In the win over No. 1 Richmond, the senior was masterful, making 14 saves while allowing just eight goals to help the Irish knock off the top-ranked Spiders.
• Ricciardelli impressed in his debut season, leading the ACC and ranking sixth in the country goals against average (9.14).
• The shot stopper made 158 saves during the 2025 campaign while allowing 121 goals.
• The goalie saved at least 50 percent of shots he faced in 10 of 14 games last season.
• In his first NCAA Tournament appearance, Ricciardelli turned in an incredible performance against No. 2 Ohio State, making 15 saves while allowing just six goals for a mark of 71.4 percent.
EVERYBODY EATS
• The Irish can beat you in a number of ways, as the attack has been very balanced this season.
• The Fighting Irish have four attackmen that have recorded at least 17 points through nine games.
• Josh Yago (20G, 12A) leads the team in points with 32 followed by Luke Miller (20G, 8A) and Brock Behrman (12G, 11A). Teddy Lally (10G, 7A) has excelled off the bench, adding 17 points to bolster the unit.
• Will Maheras has paced the midfield with 19 points (11G, 8A). Matt Jeffery (9G, 5A) has added 14 points. Jalen Seymour (9G, 2A) has recorded 11 while Will Angrick (7G, 3A) has 10 on the season.
• Nineteen different players have registered a goal this season and 24 have tallied at least one point during the 2026 season, including 18 with multiple points.
DOMINATE THE DOT
• Tyler Spano has stepped up and produced big-time performances in the month of April, taking on two of the top FOGOs in the country.
• Facing Brady Wambach of UNC, who entered the matchup with the best percentage in the country, Spano won 10-of-17 faceoffs against the Tar Heels along with six ground balls to help the Irish win the possession battle.
• A week prior he faced Richmond’s Vincent Gaylord, who came into the game ranked in the top 10 in faceoff winning percentage in the country, and won 16-of-22 faceoffs while also scooping up nine ground balls and adding an assist.
• Spano has won 59.0 percent of faceoffs on the season (69–of-117) and has a team-high 39 ground balls.
INSTANT IMPACT
• A number of newcomers to the 2026 squad wasted no time making a first impression.
• Graduate transfer Josh Yago leads the team in points with 32 (20G, 12A) after posting at least three points in eight of nine games this season, including season-high five-point efforts in wins over No. 3 Georgetown, which helped the grad student earn ACC Offensive Player of the Week honors, and No. 1 Richmond.
• Teddy Lally has 17 points on the year off 10 goals and seven assists. The freshman has recorded multiple points in five games this season and notched his first career hat trick in the win over No. 1 UNC with three goals.
• Junior transfer Tyler Spano has won 69-of-117 faceoffs at the dot with the Irish and leads the team in ground balls with 39.
• Aidan Diaz-Matos scored a goal within the first minute of the season opener off a faceoff win and is 49-of-88 at the dot on the year and is third on the team in ground balls with 28.
• Miguel Iglesias has made an impact at both ends of the field as a SSDM, scoring a goal in two games while also putting in sound defensive shifts.
• Christopher Iuliano has played multiple positions for the Irish, filling in at close defense against Bellarmine and playing LSM for the majority of the season while also registering shifts on the wings for faceoffs. The freshman has 11 ground balls and seven caused turnovers.
FROM THE GRIDIRON TO THE LACROSSE FIELD
• Two Notre Dame lacrosse players on the 2026 squad also are on the football roster, as Matt Jeffery and Dylan Faison are both dual-sport athletes.
• Jeffery was the ACC Freshman of the Year in 2025 after making an impact in the midfield.
• Faison was the No. 1 ranked incoming player in the class of 2026 before he reclassified and joined the Irish for this spring semester.
• Jeffery has been productive in his sophomore campaign, posting 14 points off nine goals and five assists despite drawing a pole in the majority of matchups.
• Faison has broken into the rotation as of late, playing on the second-midfield line and scoring his first career goal in the win over No. 1 Richmond.
RECORD-BREAKING DAY
• The Fighting Irish turned in the best offensive performance in seasons history against Bellarmine on Feb. 17.
• Notre Dame scored a program-record 29 goals, surpassing the previous mark of 28 against Mount Union which stood since the 1983 season.
• The Irish also set the program record for points in a game with 48 off 29 goals and 19 assists.
• Thirteen players combined to score the 29 goals with Brock Behrman, Will Maheras and Jalen Seymour each recording the first hat tricks of their career.
• Brock Behrman led the team with seven points off four goals and three assists, all career highs.
CORRIGAN ALL-TIME DI PROGRAM WINS LEADER
• With the win over No. 1 Duke on April 10, 2021, Baumer Family Head Men’s Lacrosse Coach Kevin Corrigan broke the NCAA record for most wins at a DI program with 311, passing Bob Shillinglaw (Delaware).
• Corrigan became just the third coach in NCAA Division I men’s lacrosse history to reach the 300-win mark at a single school with the win over Marquette on April 10, 2019.
• Corrigan is one of just four active Division I coaches to reach the 300-win mark in his career.
• Corrigan has an overall record of 378-181 in his 40 seasons of coaching.
• The head coach is 368-166 in his 38 seasons at Notre Dame.
• Corrigan is the longest tenured men’s lacrosse coach at the DI level.